A winter storm brought heavy snow to much of the region as a potent low pressure system dropped out of the Pacific Northwest, and tracked through the Four Corners region and into Southeast Colorado. As a result, significant snowfall occurred across most of North-Central and Northeast Colorado.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS BOU wrote it up.
A winter storm brought heavy snow to much of the region as a potent low pressure system dropped out of the Pacific Northwest, and tracked through the Four Corners region and into Southeast Colorado. As a result, significant snowfall occurred across most of North-Central and Northeast Colorado. The heaviest snowfall occurred in and near the Front Range Foothills and Palmer Divide as a deep east to northeasterly upslope flow developed.
In the North-Central Mountains storm totals included: 12.5 inches at Williams Park Snotel, 12 inches at Echo Lake, 11.5 inches at Rough and Tumble Snotel, 11 inches at the Deadman Hill, 8.5 inches at Zirkel Snotel and 8 inches at Bear Lake State Park.
In the Front Range Foothills and South Park storm totals included: 24 inches at Eldorado Springs, 21 inches, 2 miles southwest of Golden; 20.5 inches at Genessee, 18 inches, 3 mile southeast of Pinecliffe; 16 inches, 5 miles west-southwest of Hartsel and Stontia Springs Dam; 15 inches at Roxborough State Park, 14.5 inches at Nederland and 6 miles southwest of Evergreen, 14 inches, 3 miles southwest of Conifer; 13 inches at Evergreen, 12 inches at Fairplay and 3 miles southeast of Indian Hills; 11.5 inches at Gross Reservoir.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 25, 2:40 PM MST, 9 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 340 PM MDT WED MAR 25 2009 .SHORT TERM...THIS SNOW FORECAST IS NOT QUITE A SLAM DUNK...BUT PRETTY CLOSE. FCST TEAM HERE AT THE OFFICE TRIED TO FIND REASONS WHY WE WOULDN/T SEE SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL ACROSS THE CWFA NEXT 24 HOURS. COULD COME UP WITH ONLY A FEW POSSIBILITIES SUCH AS IF THE 700-500 LOW TRACKS FARTHER SOUTH UPSLOPE WOULD BE WEAKER/NOT AS DEEP...SO SNOW AMTS COULD BE MUCH LESS. HOWEVER THE LATEST MODEL RUNS ACTUALLY SHOW THE UPPER TAKING A MORE NORTHERLY TRACK ALONG THE COLORADO/NEW MEXICO BORDER. THEN THERE/S THE TEMPERATURE ON THURSDAY...WHICH THE 18Z/NAM SHOWS 850 TEMPS ON THE PLAINS REMAINING ABOVE FREEZING UNTIL MIDDAY THURSDAY. BUT THAT FLIES IN THE FACE OF THE NAM WIND AND PRES FIELDS WHICH INDICATE THE ARRIVAL OF A STRONG FRONTAL SURGE IN THE DENVER AREA AROUND MID-MORNING. NAM ALSO INDICATES STG 850-500MB QG ASCENT OVER NERN COLORADO MID-MORNING TO MID-AFTERNOON AS THE 700 MB LOW PRES CENTER PASSES OVER SERN COLORADO. THE OTHER FCST MODELS AT OUR DISPOSAL SHOW SIMILAR FEATURES WITH THE BEST SYNOPTIC SCALE AND OROGRAPHIC LIFT WEST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TONIGHT AND EAST OF THE DIVIDE DURING THE DAY THURSDAY. CONSEQUENTLY HAVE ALREADY UPGRADED THE WINTER STORM WATCH TO A WARNING FOR ALL BUT NORTH AND MIDDLE PARK ZONES FOR LATE TONIGHT THROUGH 12Z/FRIDAY. WILL GO AHEAD AND ISSUE A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THESE TWO ZONES SHORTLY. PAST FEW DAYS BIGGEST QUESTION HAS BEEN WHEN WILL ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL BEGIN AND END. IT WAS REALLY NEVER IN DOUBT WHEN THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL AND STRONGEST WINDS WOULD OCCUR. ON THE PLAINS IT STILL LOOKS LIKE FROM 18Z/THU TO 06Z/FRI. MODEL WIND FIELDS INDICATE N-NELY WINDS OF 20-30KTS WITH HIGHER GUSTS TO AROUND 40KT POTENTIALLY CREATING NEAR BLIZZARD CNDTNS IN THE AREA IMMEDIATELY EAST OF I-25 AND OVER THE PALMER DIVIDE S-SE OF DENVER IN THE AFTERNOON. WILL REFRAIN FROM TRYING TO LIST ALL THE SNOW AMOUNTS EXPECTED BY 00Z/FRI. WILL LEAVE THAT TO THE FORECAST AND WINTER STATE WARNING STATEMENT. .LONG TERM...MAIN CONCERN WILL BE THE CONTINUED FOR HEAVY SNOWFALL THRU THURSDAY NIGHT AND ANY LINGERING EFFECTS THROUGH FRIDAY. MODELS ARE VERY SIMILAR THRU 06Z THURSDAY WITH THE UPPER LOW ACROSS NW NEW MEXICO. MODELS DIVERGE THEREAFTER WITH THE GFS FURTHEST SOUTH AND MOST PROGRESSIVE WHILE THE NAM IS SLOWER AND A BIT FURTHER NORTH. REGARDLESS OF THE STORM TRACKS...THE MODELS ARE SHOWING WIDESPREAD HEAVY SNOW OVER MUCH OF THE CWA FOR THU AFTN THROUGH AT LEAST MIDNIGHT. EVERYTHING CONTINUES TO POINT TO A MAJOR SNOW PRODUCER WITH STRONG N-NE FLOW THROUGH ABOUT 550MB AND 700MB WINDS OF 25-35KT AND STEEP LOW LVL LAPSE RATES. VERTICAL VELOCITY FIELDS SHOW STRONG UPWARD FORCING AT ALL LVLS WITH A GRADUAL DECREASING TREND TOWARDS FRI AM AS THE LOW PULLS A BIT FURTHER AWAY. LOCAL SNOW MODEL YIELDS UPWARDS OF 2 FT OF SNOW OVER THE FOOTHILLS...GIVEN THE HIGHER DENSITY SNOW WITH THE FORCING. THIS MATCHES FAIRLY GOOD WITH THE HIGHER OUTPUT OF THE NAM. EVEN THE FURTHER SOUTH TRACK OF THE GFS STILL GIVES 15 INCHES OF SNOW OVER A GOOD CHUCK OF THE PLAINS. WILL BOOST SNOW AMOUNTS UPWARDS FROM PREVIOUS PACKAGE...BUT WILL STAY ON THE CONSERVATIVE SIDE FOR THE TIME...ESP BELOW THE HIGHER NAM AMOUNTS OF OVER 30 INCHES OVER THE FOOTHILLS. NOT TO SAY IT WONT HAPPEN...BUT WOULD BE ON THE LOWER PROBABILITIES OF OCCURRENCE. SNOWFALL RATES COULD APPROACH 2 INCHES/HR WITH THE HEAVIER SNOW THU AFTN/EVENING. THE STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS OF 20-35KT WILL ALSO CREATE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW THUR NITE. THE SNOW AMOUNTS OVER THE FAR NERN PLAINS MAY BE MARGINAL FOR HEAVY SNOW BUT GIVEN THE STRONG WINDS...EXPECT PROBLEMS THERE AS WELL. GIVEN THE TIMING DIFFERENCES AT THE BACK END OF THE STORM WONT MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THE ENDING PERIOD OF THE HILITES DUE TO HIGHER UNCERTAINTY IN THOSE PERIODS. IF STORM IS A BIT SLOWER LIKE THE NAM...HILITES MAY NEED TO BE EXTENDED OVER THE PALMER DIVIDE REGION. BEYOND OUR BREWING STORM FOR THURSDAY...LONG RANGE MODELS SHOW ANOTHER STORM FOR LATE SUNDAY...BUT APPEARS THIS STORM WILL COME ACROSS AS AN OPEN WAVE. INTRODUCED ISOLATED POPS OVER THE PLAINS FOR SUNDAY NIGHT. THE GFS OFFERS UP AN EVEN STRONGER STORM FOR NEXT WEDNESDAY TIME FRAME...HOWEVER THE EUROPEAN HAS A FAST...ZONAL FLOW FOR THE SAME TIME PERIOD. ADDED A SLIGHT CHC OVER THE PLAINS FOR GOOD MEASURE. && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WITH ISOLATED LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS IN THE DENVER AREA THROUGH MIDNIGHT...THEN WATCH FOR LOWERING CEILINGS WITH SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS DEVELOPING AFTER MIDNIGHT. ON THURSDAY EXPECT TO SEE SNOW SPREADING OUT ACROSS THE I-25 URBAN CORRIDOR...THEN AN INCREASE IN SNOWFALL INTENSITY AND WIND SPEEDS WITH THE PASSAGE OF A STRONG COLD FRONT AROUND MID-MORNING. ANTICIPATE LIFR CIGS AND VSBYS DUE TO PERIODS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL AND CONSIDERABLE BLOWING SNOW IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ...WINTER STORM WARNING...LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES 31..33..34 ...WINTER STORM WARNING THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES 35>51. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY...LATE TONIGHT TO 6 PM MDT THURSDAY FOR NORTH AND MIDDLE PARKS...ZONES 30 AND 32. BAKER/ENTREKIN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1205 PM MDT WED MAR 25 2009 COZ030>051-261200- JACKSON COUNTY BELOW 9000 FEET-WEST JACKSON AND WEST GRAND COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-GRAND AND SUMMIT COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-SOUTH AND EAST JACKSON/LARIMER/NORTH AND NORTHEAST GRAND/ NORTHWEST BOULDER COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST GRAND/WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST BOULDER/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/ SUMMIT/NORTH AND WEST PARK COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET-JEFFERSON AND WEST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/NORTHEAST PARK COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PARK COUNTY-LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY-BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/DENVER/WEST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES/ EAST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET-NORTHEAST WELD COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTH WELD COUNTY-MORGAN COUNTY-CENTRAL AND EAST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES- NORTH AND NORTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTH LINCOLN COUNTY-SOUTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY-LOGAN COUNTY-WASHINGTON COUNTY-SEDGWICK COUNTY-PHILLIPS COUNTY- 1205 PM MDT WED MAR 25 2009 ...STRONG WINTER-LIKE STORM TAKING AIM ON NORTHEAST COLORADO LATER TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SNOW WILL BECOME WINGSPREAD AND HEAVY AT TIMES IN THE HIGH COUNTRY OF NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO LATE TONIGHT AS A POTENT WINTER-LIKE STORM SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE FOUR CORNER AREA. WHILE SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS AND ON THE NEARBY PLAINS TOWARDS MORNING. STRONG AND GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS ARE LIKELY TO PRODUCE AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW PARTICULARLY ON THE HIGH MOUNTAIN PASSES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY SNOW WILL BE WIDESPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA BY MIDDAY THURSDAY WITH SNOW BECOMING HEAVY AT TIMES THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT ACROSS THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS AND PLAINS. SNOWFALL RATES WILL APPROACH 2 INCHES PER HOUR IN THE HEAVIER SNOW. NORTHEAST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 35 MPH BY AFTERNOON WITH BLOWING AN DRIFTING SNOW. SNOW WILL BEGIN TO DIMINISH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING. EXPECT 1 TO 2 FEET OF SNOW ACROSS THE EAST SLOPE OF THE MOUNTAINS...FOOTHILLS AND PALMER DIVIDE REGION. THE URBAN CORRIDOR CAN EXPECT 8 TO 15 INCHES...WHILE 5 TO 10 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE FAR NORTHEAST PLAINS. EXPECT EXTREME WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS AS ROADS WILL BECOME SNOWPACKED WITH POOR VISIBILITIES. THIS WILL RESULT IN POOR DRIVING CONDITIONS AND POSSIBLE ROAD CLOSURES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. BAKER/ENTREKIN
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 winter storm, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, March 2009
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 154125, 154127, 154128, 154129, 154131, 154133.